Hopes high for Red Sox’ youth movement

Saturday

Jan 12, 2013 at 7:08 PM

BOSTON — It was on Aug. 25, the day he completed a landmark trade with the Dodgers, that general manager Ben Cherington first used the phrase that would become an offseason refrain: “We’re excited about...

TIM BRITTON

BOSTON — It was on Aug. 25, the day he completed a landmark trade with the Dodgers, that general manager Ben Cherington first used the phrase that would become an offseason refrain: “We’re excited about the opportunity this gives us to build the next great Red Sox team.”

On a mild Friday morning that reminded nobody of baseball weather, on an artificial turf practice football field under a bubble on Harvard’s campus, one could catch a glimpse of what Cherington means.

At about midfield, there was Rubby De La Rosa long tossing with Allen Webster — both pieces that came to Boston in the deal with Los Angeles. Closer to the red zone, Xander Bogaerts was fielding ground balls, with Jackie Bradley Jr. and Bryce Brentz just off to the side.

This is the purported core of that next great Red Sox team.

After a one-year hiatus, Boston brought back its rookie development program last week, with 11 players in town working on strength, conditioning and fundamentals. At a time when enthusiasm for the upcoming season isn’t what it used to be, thoughts about the team’s longer-term future have become more comforting.

The August trade with the Dodgers signified a change in organizational philosophy, with the Red Sox placing a larger focus on developing talent from within their system. A large part of the reason Boston could make such a switch, though, is the talent already present at the minor-league level.

Bogaerts is one of the top prospects in all of baseball. Bradley and Matt Barnes had standout years in their first full professional seasons in 2012. Brentz has continued to progress as a corner outfielder with serious pop.

The possibilities are not lost on the players themselves. Bradley smirked when “informed” that Jacoby Ellsbury would be a free agent after 2013. Bogaerts welcomes the comparisons to Hanley Ramirez that his build and talent promote.

“We’re just going to go out and give everything we’ve got,” said Webster. “I can tell from working out together, everyone’s in there going hard at it.”

As for the pressure that comes with it all?

“Everybody’s going to have expectations. As players we have high expectations. It’s all about keeping it in perspective,” Brentz said. “If you play the game hard and play the game the right way, your numbers will speak for themselves. It’s all about not trying to do too much and keeping it simple. You want to meet expectations and you want to have high expectations, but you can’t let the game get too big.”

“The upper-level minor-leaguers feel that themselves anyway when they’re within striking distance,” said Ben Crockett, director of player development. “[We’re] trying to teach them how to handle it the best we can, but primarily, that comes from them learning how to do it and their personalities and learning different methods of handling failure. That’s a big part of it.”

Already this week, the prospects are coming together. Bogaerts tried to pretend he was Double-A catcher Christian Vazquez. The chemistry is building, and that’s something Red Sox manager John Farrell said is crucial.

“There’s an intangible that goes a long way with homegrown players,” Farrell said Friday night. “The logo on the front of the chest means more than the name on the back, and that is what binds that group together. They buy into an overall program, and they’re there to sacrifice for one another.”

These players know that there was a time when they may not have made it this far. They could very well have been shipped elsewhere by now, just like Anthony Rizzo or Casey Kelly or Justin Masterson. They appreciate that they constitute the unproven group on which the Red Sox are willing to stake their future.

“I’m glad that I’m still here,” said Brentz. “The fact that they believe in me gives me a lot of confidence. There’s a lot of talent in this rookie development camp, a lot of great guys. We’re all happy to be here. We can’t say enough about the front office keeping us and saying, ‘Hey, we believe in you guys. You’re going to be it.’